Banta cuts spreads; Oceania flex expected; Talecris sets talk; Mosaic details emerge; Generac breaks

By Sara Rosenberg

New York, Nov. 7 - Banta Corp. reverse flexed pricing on its credit facility and Oceania Cruises Inc.'s first-lien bank debt is anticipated to see pricing come in as well based on the amount of orders that have already been placed on the deal.

In other primary news, Talecris Biotherapeutics Inc. came out with price talk on its in-market term loan B now that ratings on the deal have started to emerge, and structure and price talk surfaced on The Mosaic Co.'s credit facility after a proposed bond offering was publicly announced.

Meanwhile, on the secondary front, Generac Power Systems Inc. freed for trading, with the first-lien term loan quoted atop par.

Also in the secondary, the market in general felt weaker on technicals with names like Regal Cinemas Corp., Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc. and West Corp. all giving up some ground in trading.

Banta lowered pricing on both tranches under its $515 million senior secured credit facility (Ba2/BB) by 25 basis points as the transaction has been met with very strong market interest, according to a source.

With the changes, the $50 million six-year revolver is now priced at Libor plus 150 bps, down from original talk of Libor plus 175 bps, and the $465 million seven-year term loan is now priced at Libor plus 175 bps, down from original talk of Libor plus 200 bps, the source said.

UBS is the lead bank on the deal that will be used to fund a special dividend and to refinance certain existing debt.

Banta is a Menasha, Wis., provider of printing and supply chain management.

Oceania may cut pricing

Oceania Cruises is considered by market sources as a likely candidate to reduce pricing on its revolver and first-lien term loan due to the overwhelming demand that the transaction has been met with since launching in late October.

Talk is that the company's $25 million five-year revolver (B1/B) and $300 million six-year first-lien term loan B (B1/B) will both end up at Libor plus 275 bps instead of at current price talk of Libor plus 300 bps, sources said.

The $400 million credit facility also includes a $75 million seven-year second-lien term loan (Caa1/CCC+) that is being talked at Libor plus 700 bps.

Some positives that have been said to be working in favor of the deal include asset coverage and good visibility of bookings.

UBS and Lehman are the lead banks on the Miami-based upscale cruise line's deal, with UBS the left lead.

Proceeds will be used to buy cruise ships that the company currently leases.

Talecris spread guidance

Talecris Biotherapeutics announced price talk of Libor plus 300 to 325 bps on its proposed $1.2 billion term loan B after Standard & Poor's came out with a BB- rating on the loan, according to a market source.

The company's $1.45 billion credit facility also includes a $250 million asset-based revolver that is unrated.

At launch, on Thursday, the deal was presented to lenders as a $1.05 billion term loan B and a $400 million asset-based revolver, but shortly after the meeting took place, the structure was tweaked to shift $150 million to the B loan from the revolver, the source added.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are the lead banks on the deal that will be used to fund a dividend payment, refinance existing debt and fund an acquisition.

Talecris is a Research Triangle Park, N.C., provider of lifesaving and life-enhancing plasma-derived therapeutic proteins. The company is the former Blood Plasma Business of Bayer AG.

Mosaic structure, price talk surface

Specifics on Mosaic's in-market bank debt emerged on Tuesday after the company publicly announced plans for $950 million in high-yield bonds, according to a market source.

The new $1.05 billion of debt (Ba1/NA/BB+) is comprised of a $200 million term loan A talked at Libor plus 150 bps and an $800 million term loan B talked at Libor plus 200 bps, the source said.

Mosaic is planning on keeping its existing revolving credit facility in place, a company spokesman told Prospect News on Tuesday.

JPMorgan and BNP Paribas are the lead banks on the term loans that were launched with a bank meeting this past Thursday, with JPMorgan the left lead.

Proceeds from the new term loans, along with the new senior notes, will be used to fund $1.5 billion in tender offers and refinance the company's existing $344.7 million term loan B.

The tender offers that were commenced last Tuesday cover Mosaic Global Holdings Inc.'s $150 million of 6 7/8% debentures due 2007, $394.88 million 10 7/8% of senior notes due 2008, $403.5 million of 11¼% senior notes due 2011 and $399.615 million of 10 7/8% senior notes due 2013, and Phosphate Acquisition Partners LP's $150 million 7% senior notes due 2008.

The offers will expire on Nov. 29.

Mosaic is a Plymouth, Minn., producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients.

Generac frees to trade

Moving to secondary happenings, Generac Power Systems' credit facility allocated and broke for trading on Tuesday, with its $950 million first-lien term loan quoted at par 3/8 bid, par 5/8 offered, according to a trader.

The first-lien term loan is priced at Libor plus 250 bps. During syndication, pricing on the tranche was reverse flexed from the Libor plus 275 bps area.

Generac's $1.53 billion credit facility also includes a $150 million revolver at Libor plus 250 bps and a $430 million second-lien term loan at Libor plus 600 bps. During syndication, pricing on the revolver was reverse flexed from the Libor plus 275 bps area and pricing on the second lien was reverse flexed from the Libor plus 650 bps area.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the lead banks on the deal, with Goldman the left lead.

Proceeds will be used to help fund the acquisition of Generac by CCMP Capital Advisors from the company's founder, Robert Kern, and other shareholders.

Generac is a Waukesha, Wis., manufacturer of standby power products.

Secondary lower

In other trading news, the overall market experienced some softening as issuers like Regal Cinemas, Hexion and West saw levels drop by an eighth to a quarter of a point despite a lack of credit specific news, according to a trader.

Regal, a Centennial, Colo.-based theaters circuit, saw its term loan B close the session at 99 3/8 bid, 99 5/8 offered, down a quarter of a point from previous levels of 99 5/8 bid, 99 7/8 offered, the trader said.

Hexion, a Columbus, Ohio-based thermoset resins company, saw its strip of term loan and synthetic letter-of-credit facility debt close the day at 99 3/8 bid, 99¾ offered, down a quarter of a point from previous levels of 99 5/8 bid, par offered, the trader continued.

And, West, Omaha, Neb.-based provider of outsourced communication services, saw its term loan close the session at 99¾ bid, par offered, down an eighth from previous levels of 99 7/8 bid, par 1/8 offered, the trader added.

General Growth up a touch

One exception to the general rule on Tuesday was General Growth Properties Inc., as its bank debt traded slightly higher on the heels of third-quarter numbers being released, according to a trader.

The bank debt closed the day at 99 1/8 bid, 99½ offered, up from Monday's closing levels of 99 bid, 99 3/8 offered, the trader remarked.

On Monday evening, the company reported third-quarter results that included a diluted loss per share of $0.03, unchanged from last year, and fully diluted funds from operations per share of $0.65, compared to $0.71 in third-quarter 2005.

For full-year 2006, the company is estimating fully diluted funds from operations to be $3.06 per share, which is expected to be comparable to full-year 2005.

"Our occupancy increased slightly over last year and demand for space remains strong," said John Bucksbaum, chief executive officer, in the company news release. "We completed the repayment of our $1.4 billion bridge loan well ahead of schedule and reduced our variable rate debt by over $2 billion. While current demand for land in Summerlin, Columbia and Fairwood has dropped, I remain committed to create substantial long-term value in our master planned communities in the years ahead."

General Growth Properties is a Chicago-based regional shopping mall real estate investment trust.

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